Holden Astra R

WHY THIS BASE PLAYER IS PART OF THE BEST SMALL-HOLDEN BAND IN YEARS

ONE OF the new Astra’s biggest selling points is likely to be the fact that, based on appearance and equipment levels, you’d never pick it as the entrylevel version. The smooth, Euro lines stamp it as one of the better-looking hatches around at any price, and the standard kit leans towards the upper end of things. Okay, you don’t get keyless anything and there’s no sat-nav or climate control, but with a starting price of $24,190 for the 1.4 auto, that shouldn’t play against the Astra too much.

Holden is clearly playing on the fact that, long after you’ve tired of the gadgets, that high-end ambience will still be making you smile. So will the standard digital radio, which boasts the most dropout-free reception we’ve encountered. Bar none. The front seats also lead this pack for their support and comfort, while rear-seat accommodation features plenty of foot-room, adequate headroom and kneeroom, and the only rear bench of this lot to offer even a smidgeon of under-thigh support. So Holden has spent the money in the right places then? Well, apart from the neatly shaped steering wheel, which in the Astra R is plastic. This car deserves better.

More importantly, the Astra R scores well in terms of dynamics and driveability as well as being the hatchback here that is most obviously aimed at a sporty type of driver. The new-gen 1.4-litre engine is revvy yet refined, and even though there’s a bit of that Hoover-whoosh through the turbo four’s tailpipe, it’s always an entertaining unit. It delivers in this company, too, with a seamless idle-stop system and sufficient grunt to put it at the pointy end of the rankings in acceleration testing.

The only real black eye comes in the form of fuel consumption; with a Megatest figure of 10.2L/100km, it’s all but the thirstiest of the lot. That said, our test car had yet to tick over its first 800km, so we’d need to test a more fully run-in example before condemning it as a guzzler. And, driven without using the extra performance the Astra offers, the respective consumption figures might just even up. But that’s just not our style.

Another big part of the Astra’s charm is its six-speed automatic that, apart from being slightly slow to kick down at times, keeps the turbo engine on the boil. You won’t mistake the gearbox for one of those voguish dual-clutch units, but only true die-hards will feel the need to tick the six-speed manual ’box when ordering their Astra. Even with the automatic, you still get the sportiest feel in this field, including steering that is very natural and allows the car to shrink around you at speed. Why, then, given this level of ability, has GM laid out the up-down manual tip-shift backwards?

On the safety side of things, the Astra scores okay for a base model, with a reversing camera as standard, but if you want AEB, lane-assist and forward collision alert, you need to spend $1000 for a safety pack that’s standard on upper models.

Overall, the Astra’s driving experience lacks the outright playful charm of the Peugeot, but the Holden’s limits are ultimately higher. And even though it still uses a torsion-beam rear-end (as opposed to a fully independent set-up), it does feature a Watts link to locate the axle laterally. And that’s probably a metaphor for the whole Astra, really.

While it doesn’t have some of the latest trendy tech, the commendable core engineering makes up for that to a large degree while still allowing Holden to offer the car at a bargain price. SW